Dr. Beyer began is orthopedic career treating athletes at the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic in Los Angeles during his Sports Medicine Fellowship.  He has taken his training in sports medicine to provide the same quality of high level care to the recreational athlete, or what he likes to call the “weekend warrior,” as he does for the professional athlete.  Over the years, Dr. Beyer’s practice has evolved as his patients have.  The patients that had been seeing him over the years for all their acute knee issues were beginning to suffer from arthritis and coming back to Dr. Beyer requesting that he perform their knee replacements.  Along with treating acute knee problems and performing arthroscopic knee surgery, Dr. Beyer now performs over 150 knee replacements annually and is involved in early intervention in the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee.

June 8, 2010
posted by abeyer

Dr. Beyer Discusses Patient Specific Knee Replacement

When a patient undergoes a  total knee replacement, cuts are made into the bones to allow the artificial components to placed. It is essential to the overall success of the surgery that these cuts are made correctly.  This is what allows the replacement components to fit properly in the knee joint area and allows for the most natural movement of the knee after surgery.  

To help assist surgeons make these cuts flawlessly, a recent development has been made in the field of total knee replacement.  I now have available to me the, “Patient Specific Knee Replacement.”  What is a patient specific knee replacement?  It is the design, development, and production of cutting and placement guides specifically for that particular patients anatomy.  This means that the cuts are made perfectly without any estimating on the part of the surgeon.

Using the patients x-rays and MRI images, the production company creates cutting and placement guides specific to the patient. These “guides” help me determine the exact placement of the implant which helps to reduce surgical time and minimizes the amount of bone cutting required.

I have been using the patient specific knee replacement in select patients for over a year, and have overall been satisfied with the results.  As with any new technology, there are a few drawbacks.  One being cost, the patient specific devices are costly and not always covered by insurance.  Another being that you have to wait for your specific components to be produced and delivered. If they don’t arrive in time, the surgery may be cancelled until the components arrive.

> Read More